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Ok, I might be a bit intolerant these days, since I have been diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment recently, and yet I have to play in a major amateur competition next month.

Still my situation is less pathetic compared to someone who can play Chopin scherzi, but can't decide which Beethoven sonata to play, because he has only heard one and particularly doesn't like Beethoven.Though the answer is obvious. He should learn the "Pathetique", which perfectly suits his situation.

While a debate on whether modern pianists are standardized or not are being discussed, we get to know that one of those modern pianists has unfortunately lost her life. That thread almost gets a fraction of replies of the above threads. And, yet, I can't think of anybody that would suggest that this is not a great loss since she is one those modern standardized pianists who can easily be replaced.

Imaginary people asking imaginary questions about Mazeppa and when asked to post a recording, replying with an imaginary answer that their piano is out of tune, they can't record etc.

Somebody doubting whether Chopin could play his own etudes, another one who wants to play the first two pages of Rachmaninoff 2nd but doesn't know how to play it with clarity.Another one who has mastered the first two pages of op.25/11 and asks whether he should learn the whole thing to impress his teenager friends.

It seems as if this forum is being misused by a few as an online game, who's imaginary characters score for the replies they get.

I for one do not want to get involved in this,and feel upset seeing some of our beloved real members being deceived.

_________________________
Put in one of IMO, I think, to me, for me... or similar to all sentences I post

Since my post count is in the 60's, maybe I shouldn't talk, but from my previous forum experience, I think it's safe to say that any forum will have the people who are around to stay, who have ridiculous post counts or are working on it, who perpetuate useful and interesting conversation, and improve the quality of this forum. Then there's gonna be the people whose join date is some time yesterday, making topics without reading the site ToS, asking asinine questions that common sense can answer, and then never posting again. It happens with every forum. It's just a sign that this place is growing, probably. There's still enough good topics to go around, and if you have to swim through a few topics like "help me read this measure in my poorly printed score," or "help me find the sheet music for some Elegy by some composer," well that's the internet.

I guess I fall into the middle of those two groups. I mean the first thing I posted on this forum was a thread about the Revolutionary Etude and I never read the ToS. But I'm sticking around and participating

I am sorry about what you have been diagnosed with.. But don't attack the person posted the thread about which Beethoven sonata to choose and call it pathetic. This makes me think that you are wrong about your situation, I think that your situation is way more pathetic. Actually the most pathetic thing with your situation is that you don't know what situation you are in. I am sorry, but don't dare call people who wants some help for pathetic.

Originally Posted By: Hakki

Ok, I might be a bit intolerant these days, since I have been diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment recently, and yet I have to play in a major amateur competition next month.

Still my situation is less pathetic compared to someone who can play Chopin scherzi, but can't decide which Beethoven sonata to play, because he has only heard one and particularly doesn't like Beethoven.Though the answer is obvious. He should learn the "Pathetique", which perfectly suits his situation.

While a debate on whether modern pianists are standardized or not are being discussed, we get to know that one of those modern pianists has unfortunately lost her life. That thread almost gets a fraction of replies of the above threads. And, yet, I can't think of anybody that would suggest that this is not a great loss since she is one those modern standardized pianists who can easily be replaced.

Imaginary people asking imaginary questions about Mazeppa and when asked to post a recording, replying with an imaginary answer that their piano is out of tune, they can't record etc.

Somebody doubting whether Chopin could play his own etudes, another one who wants to play the first two pages of Rachmaninoff 2nd but doesn't know how to play it with clarity.Another one who has mastered the first two pages of op.25/11 and asks whether he should learn the whole thing to impress his teenager friends.

It seems as if this forum is being misused by a few as an online game, who's imaginary characters score for the replies they get.

I for one do not want to get involved in this,and feel upset seeing some of our beloved real members being deceived.

Only ten to the 50th power more years then until we're inundated with black holes.

Heh. Given how huge the PWverse will be by then, "inundated" is hardly the word I would use.

Sheeesh, I just ruined my own bad joke.

But seriously, do you think protons decay?

No experimental evidence yet, but if any of the GUT's are actually proven to be true (hopefully), it has to exist, depressing as that might be.

Certainly depressing, but the alternative -- turning into a form of iron -- isn't exactly a picnic.

That's certainly true! I think the most likely end result of proton decay experiments will just be that protons don’t decay at any rate one can ever hope to observe. If so, these experiments won’t tell you anything about high energies, other than that baryon number stays conserved. If proton decay is observed, that would be obviously be extremely interesting--another piece of the puzzle!

_________________________
"I'm a concert pianist--that's a pretentious way of saying I'm unemployed at the moment."--Oscar Levant

Mark_C
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Registered: 11/11/09
Posts: 19969
Loc: New York

Originally Posted By: evilpacman18

....Then there's gonna be the people whose join date is some time yesterday, making topics without reading the site ToS, asking asinine questions that common sense can answer, and then never posting again....

Actually that doesn't happen much here, I don't think. The main different kind of thing that newbies do is that they find very old threads and post on them, without realizing exactly what they're doing. Some members frown on it; I think it's great. It shows us what kinds of things outsiders might search for on our site, which is of interest, and I enjoy seeing what comes up from those archeological digs.

Only ten to the 50th power more years then until we're inundated with black holes.

Heh. Given how huge the PWverse will be by then, "inundated" is hardly the word I would use.

Sheeesh, I just ruined my own bad joke.

But seriously, do you think protons decay?

No experimental evidence yet, but if any of the GUT's are actually proven to be true (hopefully), it has to exist, depressing as that might be.

Certainly depressing, but the alternative -- turning into a form of iron -- isn't exactly a picnic.

That's certainly true! I think the most likely end result of proton decay experiments will just be that protons don’t decay at any rate one can ever hope to observe. If so, these experiments won’t tell you anything about high energies, other than that baryon number stays conserved. If proton decay is observed, that would be obviously be extremely interesting--another piece of the puzzle!

I suppose one can build Deep Thought to watch for proton decay over millions of years. Hey, observing proton decay would be more interesting than 42.

Ok, I might be a bit intolerant these days, since I have been diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment recently.

I am so sorry to hear this and hope you recover completely and soon.

Quote:

Still my situation is less pathetic compared to someone who... can't decide which Beethoven sonata to play, because he has only heard one and particularly doesn't like Beethoven...Imaginary people asking imaginary questions... doubting whether Chopin could play his own etudes, ...Another one who has mastered the first two pages of op.25/11 and asks whether he should learn the whole thing to impress his teenager friends.

Topics like these do become tiresome.

Quote:

It seems as if this forum is being misused by a few as an online game, who's imaginary characters score for the replies they get.

I for one do not want to get involved in this,and feel upset seeing some of our beloved real members being deceived.

Take heart, Hakki. Because this forum is open to everyone, there will always be uninteresting topics and outright garbage to sort through. Just remember, there are plenty of us who are looking for greater depth in the topics and discussions. We find it by being discriminating about whom we read and where we post.

From my point of view, things have indeed gotten mostly dull in the last few years and we've lost some scholarly members. I've been noticing that the members who offer the most valuable contributions seem to post less and less and there seems to be more "going nowhere", "I'm posting because I like to hear myself talk even though I have nothing to say", and "It's all about me", chatter. Often the first thing I look for is which members have posted in a given topic. This seems to weed out most of what I consider to be trash.

....Then there's gonna be the people whose join date is some time yesterday, making topics without reading the site ToS, asking asinine questions that common sense can answer, and then never posting again....

Actually that doesn't happen much here, I don't think. The main different kind of thing that newbies do is that they find very old threads and post on them, without realizing exactly what they're doing. Some members frown on it; I think it's great. It shows us what kinds of things outsiders might search for on our site, which is of interest, and I enjoy seeing what comes up from those archeological digs.

Still my situation is less pathetic compared to someone who can play Chopin scherzi, but can't decide which Beethoven sonata to play, because he has only heard one and particularly doesn't like Beethoven.Though the answer is obvious. He should learn the "Pathetique", which perfectly suits his situation.

Still my situation is less pathetic compared to someone who can play Chopin scherzi, but can't decide which Beethoven sonata to play, because he has only heard one and particularly doesn't like Beethoven.Though the answer is obvious. He should learn the "Pathetique", which perfectly suits his situation.

pianoloverus
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Registered: 05/29/01
Posts: 19841
Loc: New York City

Originally Posted By: Hakki

Still my situation is less pathetic compared to someone who can play Chopin scherzi, but can't decide which Beethoven sonata to play, because he has only heard one and particularly doesn't like Beethoven.Though the answer is obvious. He should learn the "Pathetique", which perfectly suits his situation.

While a debate on whether modern pianists are standardized or not are being discussed, we get to know that one of those modern pianists has unfortunately lost her life. That thread almost gets a fraction of replies of the above threads. And, yet, I can't think of anybody that would suggest that this is not a great loss since she is one those modern standardized pianists who can easily be replaced.

Imaginary people asking imaginary questions about Mazeppa and when asked to post a recording, replying with an imaginary answer that their piano is out of tune, they can't record etc.

Somebody doubting whether Chopin could play his own etudes, another one who wants to play the first two pages of Rachmaninoff 2nd but doesn't know how to play it with clarity.Another one who has mastered the first two pages of op.25/11 and asks whether he should learn the whole thing to impress his teenager friends.

It seems as if this forum is being misused by a few as an online game, who's imaginary characters score for the replies they get.

Although I do find some of those or similar threads tiresome, I think one has to realize that many of those kinds of threads are started by students still in high school. Without, I hope, offending that age group, I think it's fair to state one cannot expect the highest degree of musical maturity from an average high school piano student.(Of course, there will be some in that age group who are much more knowledgeable and musically sophisticated than most adults. Same thing in chess... the 2011 8 Under World Awonder Liang from the US plays near master level chess)

So I think adults need to be as tolerant as possible of younger posters but also that some younger posters need to try and be as thoughtful as possible about their threads or posts. And not get too defensive.

you do realize you guys are getting trolled, and you are only making it worse by responding to and feeding this troll -- look at all the thread OP and which username do you see the most and have the most replies?

you do realize you guys are getting trolled, and you are only making it worse by responding to and feeding this troll -- look at all the thread OP and which username do you see the most and have the most replies?

you do realize you guys are getting trolled, and you are only making it worse by responding to and feeding this troll -- look at all the thread OP and which username do you see the most and have the most replies?

Any chance you could provide a clue to this clueless old man? We like our trolls mean and lean, not overfed.

I find that some people here are way too disdainful, boring and have their heads far up their own ass. I pity them. And yes, I want to impress my teenage friends - I am a teenager after all - but I also have a love for the piano, though probably not as intensely as other people on these forums. I thought this could be a nice place to share my interest in the piano, but perhaps I was mistaken.

Some people need to get a grip and stop deluding their pretentious, arrogant selves with their pseudo-superior status. You are not above the rest of us.

Music is freedom and emotion; Music is love, sadness and hope. Chill out and stop taking everything so seriously, that is not what music is about.

So I think adults need to be as tolerant as possible of younger posters but also that some younger posters need to try and be as thoughtful as possible about their threads or posts. And not get too defensive.

I find that some people here are way too disdainful, boring and have their heads far up their own ass.

Perfect Start

Originally Posted By: Munex

I pity them. And yes, I want to impress my teenage friends - I am a teenager after all - but I also have a love for the piano, though probably not as intensely as other people on these forums. I thought this could be a nice place to share my interest in the piano, but perhaps I was mistaken.

If you really do have a love for the piano and the piano literature, you would be wise in waiting to attempt a piece that's way above you. It's not about you or impressing your friends, it's about the music. That's not the only issue, but it's a fact that attempting such a difficult piece without proper instruction can will lead to injury. But this is a topic for another time.

Originally Posted By: Munex

Some people need to get a grip and stop deluding their pretentious, arrogant selves with their pseudo-superior status. You are not above the rest of us. Music is freedom and emotion; Music is love, sadness and hope. Chill out and stop taking everything so seriously, that is not what music is about.

What many here appear not to understand is that the young, the jejeune, the marginal, the ungifted can be blessed or cursed with all the passion, the intensity, the desire of the greatest virtuoso. That is the tragedy, and the dignity. A little respect for the rest of us please.

Ok, I might be a bit intolerant these days, since I have been diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment recently

I'm sorry to hear this--I had this problem as well, along with tendinitis. For me the ultimate solution was Taubman piano lessons, but physical therapy or other treatment may also help.

Feel free to ignore the following unsolicited advice. From your videos, your technique looks good to my (inexpert) eyes, but the one thing that occurred to me is that you might try sitting a bit lower, to help avoid dropping wrists. I absolutely could be wrong about this, though. A better idea would be to get a consultation from the Taubman/Golandsky faculty. Sometimes a small change in what you're doing can make a big difference.

Mark_C
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Registered: 11/11/09
Posts: 19969
Loc: New York

Originally Posted By: jdw

Quote:

Ok, I might be a bit intolerant these days, since I have been diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment recently

I'm sorry to hear this--I had this problem as well....

I did too.

It was when I came back to working intensively on piano after some years away from it. I figured it was something about how I was playing ....I mean not just how much I was playing.

And it wasn't hard to figure out what it was (with my teacher's help). It seemed to be something about a particular position I was putting my hand in (it was just one hand), and a couple of particular pieces were bringing out, and certain passages. I made sure I avoided doing that, which also meant changing some fingerings -- and I got better.

Oh -- I also wore a wrist brace at night for a few months.

I don't mean to say that everybody's ulnar nerve entrapment (or carpal tunnel syndrome, or whatever hand problem) is that simple. But I'd bet a lot of people's hand/arm problems that are treated with physical therapy and/or medications and maybe even with surgery could be taken care of more simply -- and more meaningfully -- by looking for this kind of thing, whether we're talking about piano keyboard or computer keyboard, or any other kind of repetitive manual activity. The input you gave Hakki is a good example of how to start approaching it, although I think it's hard to be able to be that specific from afar.

I wouldn't be that quick to advise seeing a Taubman person, because from what I've gathered, all too often they tend to be a "one-note-Johnny" -- they feel the answer to everything is just to adopt the Taubman method. That might well work, but not as directly as just looking at what specific thing it might be about what the person is doing. It might not need a total overhaul of how he plays -- which is what I think the Taubman person would usually try to have him do.

Ok, I might be a bit intolerant these days, since I have been diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment recently, and yet I have to play in a major amateur competition next month.

I'm very sorry to hear this, Hakki, and I understand your frustration. I've been in physio since January for an ulnar nerve traction injury and of course it happened when I was preparing for an important piano pedagogy exam. My poor husband has been dealing with an extremely cranky wife!

I'm very sorry to hear of your injury. I know it means nothing coming from a stranger, especially through such a medium, but I *do* hope you recover with all due haste. I understand your frustration with this forum and can only wish it diminishes for you, though I equally understand how unlikely that is. All I can suggest is the notion that different peoples and persons have different priorities; I'm sure none meant to upset you by them...I mean, in theory I suppose some might, and you might have reason to quarrel against someone ruining something you clearly hold great stock, if not comfort, in, however for the most part all I can see is various people searching for answers to questions they can't, for some, I agree, due to poor planning or likewise frivolous reasoning, realise by themselves. But...um, I've tried my hardest here to make you see things from my point of view, though it may very well be wrong. I'm sorry you've become upset. You have a pleasing use of rhetoric, I'm sure you're aware.Xxx

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Sometimes, we all just need to be shown a little kindness <3

So I think adults need to be as tolerant as possible of younger posters but also that some younger posters need to try and be as thoughtful as possible about their threads or posts. And not get too defensive.

Excellent advice. But, for now I think, I'll better use the iggy button with those teenager online gamers, at least until I am able to keep up with this advice.

And thanks to all who have expressed kind wishes and considerations about my injury.

_________________________
Put in one of IMO, I think, to me, for me... or similar to all sentences I post

I agree, I was thinking of problem solving and not major overhaul. My impression of Golandsky has been different from yours, in that I see flexibility and attention to individual needs. I know they've worked with some active performers who can't take time out for revamping.

Of course, they think Taubman approach is best, and that's why they teach it. But they don't insist everyone needs total retraining; I've heard them say that some people develop a healthy technique naturally. I suggested them because they have such a huge fund of knowledge about the ergonomics of piano playing. I don't know enough to say what they would usually recommend; I think it would depend on the situation.

But of course, as you say, some problems can be solved in other ways. And I absolutely agree with you that adjustments to technique can avert a lot of injury.

Mark_C
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Registered: 11/11/09
Posts: 19969
Loc: New York

Originally Posted By: jdw

....My impression of Golandsky has been different from yours, in that I see flexibility and attention to individual needs....

My impression also -- and I should have been clearer that I wasn't particularly talking about her. From what I've heard (from a couple of friends who happen to have worked closely with her), she seems to be an exception among Taubmanites.